A meeting called by radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol of Meitei MLAs on Wednesday was held at the historic Kangla Fort in Imphal. Nearly all Meitei MLAs of Manipur as well as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs representing its valley areas were present at this meeting, attended by the outfit’s self-styled “commander-in-chief”.

Apart from the significance of the legislators making an appearance at the “summons” of a non-government outfit, the choice of the Kangla Fort – a symbol of Meitei pride – was critical.

Importance of Kangla What constitutes modern-day Manipur was and is home to Meitei, Loi, Yaithibi, Bamon (Brahmin), Bishnupriya and Pangan (Muslim) communities, as well as the Nagas, Kukis and other tribes who live in the hills.

A Meitei state, controlling primarily the valley regions, emerged under the leadership of the chiefs of the Ningthouja clan in the 13th century and was an independent kingdom until 1891, when the British took over the province of Manipur.

With the name of Imphal also Kangla, the Kangla Fort, built in 33 AD and spread over 200 plus acres, emerged as the centre of power of the Meitei kings and the site of its many rituals and festivals. The fort premises are also believed to house sites sacred to the Meiteis.

Before it came under British rule, the Meitei kingdom saw repeated attacks from the Burmese and fell under Burmese control in 1819. The three royal princes – Marjit, Chaurjit and Gambhir Singh – were forced to flee to Cachar in Assam.

In 1824, when a war broke out between the British and the Burmese, the British assisted Gambhir Singh in “recovering” the state. Manipur then became a protectorate state of the British.

In her memoir The Maharaja’s Household: A Daughter’s Memories of Her Father, the last princess of Manipur wrote that after the British took over, they proclaimed an eight-year-old Churachand as the child king but did not let the family reside in the palace within the Kangla Fort.

In 1891, following differences within the Meitei royal family, the British wanted to take over the princely state. A rebellion ensued from the people, but more and more British forces were deployed to the princely state, the rebellion quashed and Manipur was occupied.

The Kangla Fort was then taken over by the British troops, and remained under their control until Independence in 1947.

Post-Independence After Independence, the fort’s control went to the Ministry of Defence and it went on to become the headquarters of the Assam Rifles – which remained a sore point for the Manipuris who invested in the fort for their cultural and regional pride.

In the 1980s, there was a thinking in the Centre to remove the Assam Rifles from the historic fort, but the matter dragged on as the Centre was wary of the move being seen as a victory of radical elements in Manipur.

Then came the famous protest at the gates of the Kangla Fort on July 15, 2004, when 12 Meitei women members of the Meira Paibis staged a naked protest against the Armed Forces, holding placards that read: “Come Indian Army Rape Us”. They were protesting against the rape and killing of a Manipuri woman by allegedly members of the Assam Rifles.

Following this, the demand for withdrawal of the Assam Rifles from the fort and the rolling back of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state gained a lot of momentum.

On November 20, 2004, as a gesture, the Centre transferred the control of the Kangla Fort to the state government of Manipur. In its statement, the Manmohan Singh government at the time said: “The Kangla Fort is revered as the holiest place by Manipuris living in the state and outside. Therefore, they consider it as a centre of pilgrimage. Woven into the history and mythology of the state, it casts a spell on the minds of its inhabitants and deeply influences them and their thinking. In response to popular demand and popular feelings, the Government of India, therefore, decided to pass on the ownership of this majestic Fort to the state government.” AFSPA was also removed from the Imphal valley.

Current day The importance of the fort in popular Meitei imagination as representative of its culture, history and tradition holds true to this day.

In February 2021, Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Sanajoaba Leishemba, who is the titular king of Manipur, demanded that the fort be declared a world heritage site, arguing that it had served as the “seat of Manipuri civilisation” and had seen the rule of “70 kings”.